This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Two words that inspire rage

GANDER, Nfld. – Two of the most emotive words in the English language are "seal hunt."

They send people who would otherwise consider themselves gentle, compassionate and caring into a violent, vituperative rage. The Star's recent coverage of the seal-hunting boats trapped in pack ice off Newfoundland provoked a storm of emails to this reporter, including from the Netherlands and southern California:

Here is a selection:

"This might be the year many of us have waited for as we hope for a huge, sudden squall to take these barbaric savages to a watery grave. This end would actually be too gentle. . . but just knowing that they would no longer be able to murder another living creature again, ever, would be justice and make those of us who care for these animals sleep a little better at last."

"Imagine the ethics of glorifying cowards that make their living by bludgeoning baby animals in front of their screaming mothers. If these people would show a bit of initiative, they wouldn't have to make a living off the agony of the innocent. Of course, you wouldn't care about that. I'm sure you eat commercially raised pork, etc. and engage in all the completely immoral acts of this vile species of ours. Try and find a path in life that has a bit of decency to it."

Article Continued Below

"How many reporters in the media are actually against these 'seal culls' and why are they so fearful to put their opinion out there? Those of us who are heartbroken for the poor little guys, those of us who are quietly boycotting, those of us praying for a change. . . could use a little support from those of you who actually have the means to get your voice heard."

"Your article today put a great big smile on my face. Those sealers will experience every little fear and helplessness the seals go through. I lived in Canada for 31 years. . . your news media is so controlled by the government. Hey, I'm entitled to my opinion, having paid my Canadian taxes and earned a decent living, unlike the ignorant men stuck on the ice."

"There is a place in Hell for. . . these monsters. . . to revel in torturing infant seals is beyond wicked. It is proven that most serial killers start out their killing sprees by torturing animals and that is just what the sealers are doing. I'd like to see their sealing boats sink like the Titanic with all the sealers inside so that they could all drown and get eaten by sharks. That way, they (the sealers) would all go to hell. . . Animals are very important to life. They deserve our respect and deserve to live with love and dignity. We are very fortunate to have seals on our earth. They are some of God's most beautiful creatures. I firmly believe that seals are here for our enjoyment."

"You may be surprised to know that your story is being read and discussed here in North County, San Diego. . . So Mr. Desmond Adams 'loves' to go out on the ice, smash the 12-day-old seal pups in the face and skin them alive in front of their distressed mothers, does he? He doesn't see himself as a sadist, an unfeeling monster? A heartless psychopath who enjoys inflicting maximum pain and suffering on nature's most beautiful and helpless creatures? The Canadian Coast Guard, I hear, is actively supporting them. They ought to be ashamed of themselves! These sealers can surely find a more respectable, more humane way to earn a living."

Quite a reaction, eh? Leaving aside the scarcity of sharks in sub-Arctic waters, does anyone really want to see the seal-hunters either dead or destitute? Or to shoot the messenger (me)?

When photographer Lucas Oleniuk and I visited, unannounced, a boat that had been icebound for more than a week, the crew's first thought was to feed us. Then to admonish us that flying on to shifting, uncertain ice 12 kilometres from shore was dangerous. And then to be quietly grateful that someone wanted to see the situation from their point of view and report on it dispassionately.

Like people the world over who live hand-to-mouth, they were open-hearted and open-handed, happy to share what they have. Not quite what you'd expect from psychopaths awash with the blood of innocents.

It's 7,000 kilometres from San Diego to Gander. But to all intents and purposes, Newfoundland is a completely different world.

Its 14.3 per cent unemployment rate is far higher than in the rest of Canada and the U.S. The outports – often unimaginably remote – offer no other means to make a living than fishing and seal-hunting.

But it's hard to find anyone who takes a neutral stance on such a hot issue.

And it's easy to perceive as the enemy any journalist trying to stay up on the tightrope of objectivity and present facts rather than feelings. If I'm not for you, then I must surely be against you. Where have we heard that argument before?

A Norwegian website (in English) gives information about seal-hunting there, with a lot of parallels to Newfoundland. The easiest way to access it is to Google " 'seals and seal-hunting' Norway." To find anti-hunting websites, Google "seal hunting."

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com